How To Respect Your Teen’s Sexuality

A lot of us are used to framing teen sex as a negative thing. We tell teens that they aren’t ready for sex. We warn them of the risks. We prohibit them from learning about the subject.

But when you only talk about sex in negative terms, or when you don’t talk about it at all, this sends a pretty clear message that sex is off limits and illicit.

So it can be really tough to flip the script. But doing that isn’t impossible.

We can talk positively about pleasure and consent. We can reassure teens that their sexual thoughts are normal. We can explain that having sexual experiences doesn’t brand or tarnish them. We can stop the victim-blaming and sex-shaming that come so naturally.